Pontian: Restaurant Heng Heng and Kedai Kopi Keng Guan Hiong

Hello there! This would be my last post from Pontian. I am leaving this small town for good after 4 weeks here. As I was really bored, I explored a few food places around this area, including day trips to Batu Pahat and Johor Bharu (JB)! Unexpectedly but predictably, I've grown rounder after stranded here for weeks. Oopss!!

So tonight I am gonna share 2 famous restaurants in Pontian town, which can be found in other Pontian food blogs! These 2 places are apparently very famous, as I saw a lot of Singapore tourists there during my visit. 

#1 Restaurant Heng Heng (兴兴）

This restaurant is famous with its Wantan noodle, which is a specialty in Pontian too! In Pontian, they mainly serve Wantan noodle in ketchup, unless you request for soy sauce version. I requested for ketchup with a little spiciness. Really curious about the taste!

It's almost 2pm and there are still a lot of people here.

Apart from noodles, they also serve otak-otak for each table. They will count according to the amount that you consume later. It is around RM0.80-RM1 per piece. Sorry, my memory don't serve me well recently. I decided to try one and it is just so-so. 

The noodle is served!! It is typical Wantan noodle combination, with fishballs! How does it tastes? It's sweet but won't be too over as I requested for some chili to be added. Overall, it is fine. I still prefer my soy sauce Wantan noodle XD Good to try though! 

Can't really see the red colour in this photo. 

Address: 766, Jalan Parit Mesjid, Taman Anggerik, Pontian, Johor. (It is not too hard to locate! )

Opening hours: 9am-6pm (closed on Fridays)

#2 Kedai Kopi Keng Guan Hiong (琼源香)

I have been craving for good coffee and went to try out this famous coffee shop, which is quite near my hotel! I have read about the sourness of coffee in Pontian and feel really interested to try it out. To be honest, I am craving for a cup of Ipoh White Coffee now! How I miss Perak! Haha...

There's also a lot of people here! Why is it crowded everywhere I go??

Taiping: Cendol KTM

Weather is getting hotter! I am sure your craving for a cup of iced drink or dessert would be higher under such hot weather. And if you happen to be in Taiping town, I want to recommend you a cendol stall, which is located at the ancient ktm station. 

Here is it! Located at the centre of the previous KTM station. The new KTM station is just right beside the old one. This stall sells cendol, ice kacang, laksa, pasembor, mee rojak, etc.... Typical laksa stall. There is another Chinese laksa stall beside this. But I find the cendol here much nicer. 

Cendol with red beans is served! Look at the amount of red beans they gave me. Their cendol is slightly salty, but overall quite nice. 

I also ordered a plate of mee rojak - pasembor + noodles as my lunch. Satisfied!

Lunch idea to fight the heat! =D

Perak: Manjung Trip - Where I Stay, What to See & What to Eat

Manjung, is a district in the southwestern part of the state of Perak, Malaysia. Bandar Seri Manjung is the district's principal urban center while there are smaller towns around it which includes Sitiawan, Lumut, Pantai Remis etc. As I have to attend a 3-days workshop in Hospital Seri Manjung, I have the chance to visit Manjung district, which is also famous with Pangkor Island. 

WHERE I STAY:

I booked Hotel Sfera to stay as it seems to be more decent from photos in Agoda.com. It isn't cheap though, it costs be around RM336 for 2 nights stay. This hotel is actually a shoplot hotel where you will see a lot of shops around. However, the interior of this gym is very nice and it has a link bridge to connect to opposite shoplots.

The lobby

I've got myself a twin room. Requested for a queen bed but I checked in late on the first day, hence I got these single beds for myself. A little disappointed. 

They have very beautiful swimming pool but it closed at 7pm. I don't have the chance to enjoy it. Great place to chill!

WHAT TO SEE:

1. Teluk Batik - a beach located in Lumut town. It is about 10 minutes drive from Bandar Seri Manjung. I would say that it is a great place to chill, especially over the weekend, when you need a short escape from stress. I went there for sunset but the beach was rather quiet on weekday. After walking around, I've decided to leave the beach before the sun sets due to safety issue as I was alone.

It was really relaxing to be here. Enjoying the sound of waves and sea breeze.

Selfie at the beach. I have people staring at me as I am the only awkward girl walking along the beach and keep taking photos. XD

There's a huge square with unique traditional designs.

Last selfie before leaving Teluk Batik

2) Tua Pek Gong Temple, Sitiawan (品仙祠大伯公和观音堂)
This is like a must-visit place if you were to visit Manjung/Sitiawan. It is located at Kampung Pasir Panjang, facing the sea. Using waze, you can get to this temple easily. However, the turnings that you need to go through when approaching the temple is a little funny. Trust your GPS, then you will reach the temple!

Huge tua pek gong statue! Wow!

Thailand 8D7N Trip: Day 7 & 8 Mall Hopping; Chinatown; Chatuchak Weekend Market

Day 7: Breakfast near Platinum Mall --> Big C --> Siam Paragon --> Siam Square -> MBK Shopping Centre --> Chinatown

Second last day of our 8D7N trip in Thailand. We decided to go mall hopping in the morning and check out Chinatown at night.

First thing to do: Feed our stomach! We went to hunt food at the street opposite Platinum Mall, again. This time, we found a small local stall that sells wan ton noodle soup and chicken/roasted pork/roasted duck rice. 

Platinum Mall (le heaven)

So this is how my breakfast looks like. I ordered a bowl of Wan Ton Noodle with soup and they served with quite a number of Char Siew (pork) (THB40). I find it quite OK.

After that, we started our journey to explore malls that are nearby. We first stopped at Big C Supermarket (Right opposite Central World) as the weather was really hot and all of us were sweating. And we did some shopping there to get junk food. The price at Big C is cheaper than elsewhere. A good place to buy stuff to bring home, especially junk food. Another place to buy cheap junk food would be a stall at 7th floor of Platinum Mall. Their Pocky is relatively cheaper than other places. 

After that, we walked from Centrtal World to Siam Paragon, which was about a 10 minutes walk.Walking under hot sun is really a big challenge. We just did some window shopping at Siam Paragon and went to Siam Square.

Group photo in front of Siam Paragon =D

At Siam Square, I found my beloved kitty cafe! Awww..... Unluckily, I was running out of cash and decided not to try it out. What a waste! I would definitely come back for this as it looks very promising and larger than the one I've visited in Taipei. 

Till we meet again.... >.<

Then, we had lunch at A&W. Fast food restaurant again! 

Bacon Burger + Fries + Rootbeer. 

This is not available in Malaysia though. Something special at least. 

After lunch, we continued to hop to MBK shopping centre as our last stop. We did our shopping along the way. MBK shopping centre isn't that nice to shop. It looks more local and older than other malls. However, I still get to do some shopping. Got my neck pillow here from a Korean Shop. XD

We were all very exhausted walking everywhere under hot weather. So we decided to head back to hotel with cab. NO MORE WALKING, they said. Haha.... However, girls decided not to rest in hotel until dinner time. We went out to the Pratunam market to continue our shopping journey. Pratunam market is huge and there are plenty of stalls! However, it is open air and I find it uncomfortable to shop in there. Ended up, we spare another hour time in Platinum Mall before going to dinner at Chinatown. 

Finally, we are done with shopping and going for dinner! The guys should be relieved that we had done our shopping. XD We headed out to Chinatown for shopping. We wanted to try and find out how to take local bus to Chinatown. The hotel reception thought us how to take bus but due to time limitation, we ended up trying Tuk Tuk instead. 

Bought ourselves a stick of BBQ pork as snack along our way to hunt for a Tuk Tuk. 

THB10 per stick, it's good!

Thailand 8D7N Trip: Day 1 Kuala Lumpur - Krabi (Ibis Style Ao Nang Hotel, Krabi Night Market)

Finally, I am free to write down my 8D7N Krabi-Bangkok Trip in details. =D The whole trip cost me RM3000, which includes flight (3 flights), 7 nights accommodation, tour, food and shopping (to be honest, I bought a lot of clothes).

Let's start with Day 1. I took an afternoon flight from KLIA2 to Krabi. This is the first time I got on an AirAsia flight with LINE design. LINE~~ However, the flight was like roller coaster ride. My friend and I felt so nauseous and worried throughout the flight. Thank god we landed safely at Krabi. 

Cute design!

Of course we won't miss the chance to take a wefie in the cute cabin.

Upon arrival at airport, we booked a cab to our hotel, which cost us THB600 per cab. We chose cab over public bus as they cost the same to us after dividing. For bus, it will cost THB150 per person. So, it is more comfortable for us to get the cab instead. Our cab driver - Somchai is a very friendly gentleman. He welcomed us to Krabi and suggested us some things to do in Krabi. So nice of him! We also booked our day trip to Phi Phi Island (THB1000) and Emerald Pool (THB900) at the airport too. Settled everything at once before we start to enjoy. =)

About 45 minutes ride, we arrived at our hotel -- Ibis Style Ao Nang. I booked it via Agoda with the price of RM234/pax for 3 nights stay. Quite worthy. The room size is rather small but environment is very comfortable. 

Here's the room with twin bed. The room size is just nice to fit 2 person and there is some space for packing. Toilet is clean and nice too. 

Pool view + Mountain view from the balcony. Amazing view.

After washing up, we went out to hunt for some food. 

Street view outside of our hotel.

Saw a food stall selling coconut ice cream by the roadside. YEAH! It's coconut ice cream! 

Bought it for THB30, cheapest and most delicious coconut ice cream I've bought throughout the trip.

Let's take a food portrait!

And typical tourist photo with food. XD

Then, we went to an Indian/Thai fusion restaurant for light meal. We ordered 2 dishes to be shared among 4 of us -- Green Curry with Chicken and also Pineapple Fried Rice.

Green-est ever green curry I've ever tried. But the taste is okay. Just too oily and too green >.<

The Pineapple Fried Rice. 

Happy Face while waiting for our food to be served. The restaurant took 30 minutes to serve the food. Not gonna recommend this place. 

After that, we went to family mart to look for Lays with smiley face. It is the trend so we want to have a photo with it too!

It fits my face quite well. Hehe....

After hunting for food, we went back to Ibis Style Hotel to join the Night Market Tour at 6pm. We paid THB200 per pax for this night market tour for return trip of the van. I think the price is quite okay as the journey was quite long, around 20-30 minutes drive. 

Here we are at Krabi Weekend Night Market! As the name mentioned, this night market is only open over the weekend, mainly saying Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. So don't miss out your chance to visit if you are here for the weekend. There are a lot of food and souvenirs to look here!

We arrived around 6.30pm and it is still bright. But there are a lot of people walking around already. 

Wefie before exploring the night market! Let's go!

First stall that I found interesting is this pancake stall! The small pancake has different fillings and if you have trouble deciding, you can choose 7 pieces with mixed flavour for THB20. And.... I bought mixed flavour to have a try of all. Personally, I like the kaya one as it tastes like kaya ball. XD 

Kedah: Tai Kuan Laksa & Caffe Diem

Because I miss Alor Setar......... So here's a post about Alor Setar food! 

TAI KUAN LAKSA

I've always wanted to try this laksa place but my friend said it isn't nice. Being a stubborn girl, I went to try this laksa stall when I was looking for lunch alone. According to Dr Google, this stall is famous with laksa and ice kacang (mixed ice). So, I ordered both to try. 

Don't be surprise that they are actually 2 different stalls. This area is like a small hawker center, with a few food stalls. So you need to order Laksa from one stall and Ice Kacang from another. But their services are really good. I went there and looked a bit lost. Uncle Aunty approached me and sort of guided me to order my plate of Laksa and Ice Kacang.

My lunch at a glance.

Closer shot of the laksa. It isn't really nice as I've imagined. Sorry friend for not trusting you!

Ice Kacang is just O-K. Taiping has better Ice Kacang. =)

******************************************************

Next: Caffe Diem, Pekan Cina

After sharing about the not-so-good laksa and ice kacang, here's a post on my favourite cafe in Alor Setar. This is the first cafe that I've been when I started working in Alor Setar. The hot chocolate impressed me a lot. Hence, I often hang out with friends here. Sometimes, when I was alone, I will still chill in this cafe. I will choose a hidden spot and start writing blogs inside. XD

And here's one day that I was alone, enjoying my coffee and dinner, while typing out my travelogue. Life is good. =D

Tried to take an artistic photo for my cuppa coffee. Success?

Itinerary: 24-hour trip to Malacca

Early July this year, my sis and I spent almost 24 hours in Malacca. Would like to share with you all my itinerary. Short trip but we feed our tummy really well. 

We departed from Subang around 4pm and reached Malacca around 6pm. Malacca was really jam that time when I exit the toll. Jammed for about 30 minutes and finally we reach our hotel -- Fantasy Hotel (Click here for my review on this cute hotel =D )

After cleaning up, my friends came over to fetch us out for dinner. Our night activities were just Nyonya Food as dinner and stroll at Jonker Walk. We had Nyonya Food at Restoran Nyonya Makko, which was a fantastic experience. My first try of traditional nyonya food and it is really my kind of food. Hehe... Sorry that I was too hungry that time and forgot about taking photos. XD

Night view of Malacca River. Colourful lighting =)

At Jonker Walk, you can see lots of colourful and well-decorated cycle rickshaw. You can have a ride on it, but I'm not too sure about the price.

Me and sis with the significant statue at Jonker Walk. 

Have been seeing people posting about this coconut drink. The seller managed to cut it so nicely and sell it as a whole (Flesh and juice). Yumzz. It is served with some ice and is a great drink to cool down yourself after a sweaty walk along Jonker Street. 

Before walking back to the car, saw some chinese calligraphy on the wall.

Nice one! Instead of drawings on the wall, street art can be very traditional too! =)

***************************************************************

The next morning, we went back to Jonker Walk to have the famous chicken rice ball (konon-nya). It was 9.30am in the morning and there's a long queue in front of the shop already. O-M-G. We queued for about 30 minutes and finally its our turn. We can't make any decision on the chicken rice. We were asked how many persons and they decided to sell us a whole chicken with 5 rice balls per pax. Hmm... Fast but it is a bit harsh... Customers can't make decision. If you were just there to try while having a full tummy, you might need to think twice.

The chicken is very smooth and the rice balls are really compact. I would say it is nice, but to queue for an hour at noon for this? No thanks! 

When we left, the queue gets even longer. 

After eating, we went for a malacca heritage walking tour, on our own XD. As I have a local friend to bring me around, I did not read the map beforehand. *bad tourist*

1st spot: Windmill opposite the Dutch Square.

2nd spot: Dutch Square

Christ church (the red building at the middle of this photo) was built between 1741 and 1753. It replaced a Portuguese church, which was shattered. Bricks were shipped from Zeeland in the Netherlands. Besides Christ Church, there is also the Stadhuys at Dutch Square and Tang Beng Swee Clock Tower (which was built in 1886, not by Dutch).

Beloved friends and me. We hardly meet, we hardly talk. But that doesn't affect our friendship in anyway. Still love spending time with them. 

The red stairs where tourists love to capture a photo here. =) So do I.

3rd spot: Saint Paul's Church

To reach to church, we took a path up the hill. This was originally built in 1521, by the Portuguese. It became a fortress in 1567, until 1596. After the Dutch siege it became St Paul's, before it was known as Nossa Senhora da Annunciada (Our Lady of Annunciation). It has been used as burial ground for the Dutch. You can still see the tombstones, along the walls of ruins of the church. (information from WikiTravel)